Mercosur

• Friday, January 27th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Chilean, Mexican presidents tout bilateral accord

  Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, signed an agreement Thursday to strengthen their nations' political and economic ties and bolster bilateral cooperation.

• Friday, January 27th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Cunard boss to meet QM2 passengers

  Disgruntled holidaymakers travelling on board the troubled Queen Mary 2 are meeting the boss of operator Cunard after the company revealed they would be receiving a full refund.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  China noses out UK as world's fourth economy

  China's economy spurred by strong export growth and foreign investment expanded 9.9% in 2005, according to data released Wednesday that suggests it may now rank fourth-biggest in the world.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  2005, the hottest year on record and more to come

  The highest global surface temperature in more than a century of instrumental data was recorded in the 2005 calendar year according to a report from the United States Space Agency.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Uruguay with record export and tourism in 2005

  Uruguayan exports reached a record value of 3.493 billion US dollars last year, reports the Central Bank. This represents 14.6% over 2004, when the country began to consolidate following the 2002/03 financial crisis.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  World tourism forecasted to grow 4/5% in 2006

  The Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, expects world tourism, as measured by international arrivals, to grow by between 4 and 5% in 2006. In 2005 world tourism rose 5.5% to 808 million international arrivals from 766 million in 2004.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  FDI to Latinamerica reached 72 billion US dollars

  Foreign direct investment, FDI, worldwide surged to an estimated 897 billion US dollars in 2005, 29% from the preceding year, and a four-year slump in flows to developed countries was sharply reversed with an estimated 72 billion US dollars going to Latinamerica according to a UNCTAD report released this week.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Human Rights Watch blasts Colombia and US

  Colombia, the largest recipient of United States aid in the Western Hemisphere, “presents the most serious human rights and humanitarian situation” in Latin America, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2006.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  IMF praises Uruguay's “sound economic policies”

  The International Monetary Fund, IMF, praised Uruguay's “sound economic policies” which have contributed to a strong recovery and expressed support for the deep fiscal reforms the government is undertaking.

• Thursday, January 26th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Spain denies it's the worst CFP offender

  Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food's (MAPA) Maritime Fisheries General Secretariat said that offences against the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) mentioned in a report released by the European Commission (EC) refer to data gathered in 2003.